They work tirelessly all day under the harsh rays of a blazing sun, the stench of death and destruction around them. They are a team of Jewish heroes who are working around the clock with one mission: the recovery of human bodies.

The SA Friends of the Beit Halochem Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation was established in Johannesburg in 1982, its primary goal being to help and support Zahal disabled veterans by raising funds to help them return and resume their normal lives as soon as possible.

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Devotion to the cause of the State of Israel flourishes in the most unlikely places, even in societies where the Jewish presence is small to non-existent. Such is the case in Mozambique, where the work of Beth-El Associacao Crista Amigos De Israel - Mozambican Christian Friends of Israel - testifies to how much can be achieved by those inspired by their Christian faith to promote the Israeli cause, despite adverse conditions.

JNF’s unique “Blue Boy Box” now lives at King David Linksfield Pre-Primary so that children of each generation learn the importance of tzedakah (charity or welfare). It is the responsibility of Jews all over the world to build Israel, develop it and nurture it as the home of the Jewish nation

“Knowledge is Light” was our school motto when I was a child in Durban. The importance of education was made clear to us from as far back as I can remember. It wasn’t taken for granted. A good education was a privilege.

(JTA) Norwegian rapper not charged with hate speech
A Norwegian rapper who cursed Jews while performing at an event in Oslo promoting multiculturalism will not be charged with hate speech, because his words may have been criticism of Israel, prosecutors said.

Did Israeli soldiers violate international law by deliberately targeting unarmed children, journalists, health workers, and people with disabilities during the past year of violence along the Israel-Gaza border?

(JTA) After the New England Patriots beat the favoured Kansas City Chiefs to reach their third straight Super Bowl – their amazing ninth in less than 20 years – CBS sports analyst Boomer Esiason made an intriguing statement, namely that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We are winging our way towards Human Rights Day (21 March), the first public holiday of the year, which coincides with Purim. I can’t help but wonder about our concept of human rights and what it means, not least of all, to our government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed in parliament last week that South Africa intended to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Israel. The foreign affairs bureaucracy was working “feverishly” on the matter. “The decision to downgrade the embassy in Israel is informed precisely by the violation of the rights of Palestinians and we are therefore putting pressure on Israel. But at the same time, we are saying we are willing to play a role and ensure there is peace,” said Ramaphosa.

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With Prince William’s historic visit to Israel this week, all eyes have been trained on the Jewish capital. It may have taken 70 years, but the first official visit by a member of the British Royal family began in Israel on Monday, when William, the Duke of Cambridge, arrived in Tel Aviv.

Some 5 600 emissaries (shluchim) from Chabad-Lubavitch from all over the world gathered at the Pier 8 warehouse in Brooklyn, New York this week for the opening of their four-day annual international conference and banquet, 75 years after the arrival of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from Europe.

One of the questions that haunts the story of Purim and moves silently through the lines of the Megillah is clear and chillingly simple: How could Jews have chosen to remain in Persian Shushan? It was so clearly an environment in which anti-Semitism was so prevalent that a genocide could be planned and almost implemented without comment by broader society.

“The greatness of our nation is that our people are great. We are a nation of heroes, of people with good and decent moral fibre who will not tolerate our country being plundered!” So said Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in Pretoria this morning.“This is a struggle for accountability and justice,” Goldstein told the crowd (which included prominent Jewish CEOs like Adrian Gore, Stephen Koseff and Michael Katz). “This struggle is about sovereignty. The power of the people always triumphs in the end.”

Die Antwoord to play in Israel despite calls for boycott

South African music duo Die Antwoord announced last Monday that they will perform a concert in Rishon LeZion in August, at the same venue where they performed in 2016.

by
Tali Feinberg | May 03, 2018

The announcement comes soon after the ANC called for a cultural boycott of Israel, after expressing disappointment at the recent performance in Israel by DJ Nkosinathi Maphumulo, popularly known as Black Coffee.

“We call on all artists to have an appreciation of the role played by the international anti-apartheid solidarity movement in the successful international isolation of apartheid South Africa,” said Lindiwe Zulu, the chairperson of the ANC’s international relations committee, after Black Coffee’s performance.

“The people of Palestine are in a just cause for self-determination and we urge our artists not to form part of the normalisation of Israel’s suppression of the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination and statehood that mirrors our very own struggle.

“The South African artistic community, having themselves experienced discrimination and oppression, must therefore continue to pledge solidarity with others who are oppressed,” added Zulu.

In response, Black Coffee tweeted: “Like everyone else I have rights and free will and no, Black Coffee is not a political party... I work as an entertainer to feed my family. To sum it up... I’ll take a bullet for my family.”

The media in general and people on Twitter expressed anger at Die Antwoord’s upcoming performance. Sabelo Mkhabela of the website OkayAfrica wrote: “For Die Antwoord to go ahead and perform in Israel is insensitive. Not that it’s unexpected from a crew that has thrived off of appropriation of Cape Coloured culture and has been defensive when called out.”

And on Twitter, one user wrote: “I hope the ANC govt will have balls of steel to confront this White Coffees like they did with Black Coffee.” Another wrote: “@DieAntwoord will go perform in Apartheid Israel for the second time in two years. Both of them are old enough to know what apartheid was like in South Africa.”

Yet the performers seem unperturbed. During their 2016 concert, band member Ninja said in colourful language that he did not care what the rest of the world thought – he was there to perform music for Israelis and is an “African brother” to Israelis.

Jason Borland, who made aliyah from Cape Town two years ago, says: “Let’s be honest here, no Israeli actually understands what Die Antwoord are saying in their songs.” However, he thinks Israelis like their music because “they are curious about the ‘gangsta’ image they put out and the tone and key of band members Ninja and Yolandi’s voices”.

He is a huge fan. “I have been a fan of Ninja’s work from when he was still rocking as ‘Maxnormal.tv’ with The Real Estate Agents, which to this day is some of the greatest underground hip hop to come out of South Africa,” says Borland.

“I was extremely lucky enough to meet and hang with Ninja a few years back. He explained what his vision is and where he sees his group going in the future. He is extremely hard-working and it’s great that they are focusing on touring the world instead of trying to fill Orlando Stadium.”

He adds that Black Coffee has a huge following in Israel and is also headlining festivals there every year. “In my opinion, he is bigger here than Die Antwoord!”

Borland concludes: “As a fellow South African musician, I am very proud of how Die Antwoord has put our music scene on the world map and I will continue to support them and will definitely be at their upcoming concert waving my SA flag high!”

Israeli Omri Liav adds that while he is a fan, a lot of his friends have not heard of Die Antwoord. “For the Israelis who do know and like them, I can assume it’s because of their ‘Zef’ culture, their passion to create and behaving the way their values dictate. For example, when Ninja told the crowd at their 2016 concert ‘F**k the boycott’, it wasn’t because of their Zionism, it was because of Die Antwoord’s non-conformism.”